Breaking Ground on New Dreams {Part 1}

 Time flies when you are having fun right?  We shall pretend that is what I have been having.

It has been so long since I have started and finished a blog post, today that changes.  I have so much to share, so many fun DIY projects and a NEW HOUSE!!  We did not move, we added on and I can't to share every step of the journey. 

It started Jan 17th of 2014 and we are nearing the end.  It has taken much longer than we had planned, but the $ saved by self performing as much as possible is well worth the extra weeks.

Who is ready to see the start of the journey?  Grab a cold beverage and enjoy!

In June of 2013 we had made the decision to build on an addition to better accommodate our family of five.  We were living in 1,200 sq feet for way too long, and had the choice to buy new, or add on.  I couldn't deal with moving from this house we have turned into our home, or leave my amazing neighbors thus making our final decision to stay.

We had to start by removing our 85 foot silver maple tree from our backyard.  Although I don't have many great photos of our back yard before the demo began, we had to tear out our 260 Sq Ft deck, our entire garden, and our shed.  All of which Allen and I designed and built on our own.  It was a hard day watching it all get destroyed, but I knew bigger things and better memories were in our future.

Here is the before of our house.  

The tree removal was impressive.  I left that morning to drop my kids off at school, in a pair of flip flops, yoga pants and a t-shirt.  No makeup, No purse, just a quick drop and go.  I returned as the first limb was coming over my roof and the kind workers informed me that I was not allowed to enter the house until the tree was down...... ummm HELLO???  I have nothing....  so I grabbed a lawn chair with my neighbor and we watched the entire process from across the street.

It took them about 5 hours to  completely take the tree down and another 2 days to remove the stump.

Here is the after.

And here is a side by side. Let there be light!  The tree was actually pretty unsafe and with each storm we lost so many limbs, it was only a matter of time before it did major damage or caused an injury.  And the leaves.... oh my, I will not miss raking those up throughout fall.

It took us about 6 more months and several financial decision later to finally break ground on the new construction.  So tonight I will leave you will this last picture.  The day we broke ground and started building the home of our dreams.  It might not be what you dream of, but it is ours and being built with a solid foundation we call family.